Monday, April 22, 2013

Happy Monday! I'm hosting our challenge this week because I've been involved in a very special project with some designers from Pixel Scrapper. We're creating a digital scrapbooking kit called "Talk to the Animals" and it will benefit 100 farm animals that were rescued recently. I'll be posting more information on my blog once the kit is released for sale in May. You can get updates here.

This is a preview of my portion of the kit.

That's what prompted the challenge this week. I kept singing the "Talk to the Animals" song from Dr. Doolittle in my head while I was working on it. I know there are lots of other animal lovers out there so I thought it would be fun to create a challenge celebrating that. I've got a few images to inspire your creativity.

Just in case you're always wondering what your cat is trying to say, I wanted to make a collage to explain.

This collage was made for a 4x4 swap I joined. The person I made it for loved playful animals.

This is our chicken chum, Henrietta and her lovely chicks. We met when we were vacationing in Kauai two years ago.

This California Condor picture was part of a challenge called "One Beautiful Thing."

Whether you create with paint, beads, digital images, paper, photographs, ink, pencil, crayon, fabric, or some other medium I hope you'll join us to create something on the theme of "Talk to the Animals." As always, you may interpret the challenge in your own unique way. The main idea is to have fun!

Monday, April 8, 2013

It is so much fun to learn something new. And it is just as rewarding to teach others what YOU have learned. Most of my crafting, decorating, cooking and painting ideas and efforts have been taken from what others have already done; when the person has explained the process so others might take advantage of that knowledge it is even more fun.

The Challenge that Inspiration Avenue is presenting you this week is to share a video, or any "How-To-Do-It" method as it relates to just about any creative effort. One of my favorite sites on the web is How TO Do Things (just about any and every thing is covered there with clear directions). Also eHow is a good resource. Any and all tutorials are welcome.

Here are a few tutorials to put the Challenge wheels in action:
Grosgrain Ribbon Tutorial on Vimeo by Jasmin and Gigi of the KnitmoreGirls:

Perhaps you might like to sew a double sided flannel baby blanket? Look here for a tutorial from Nancy's Arts & Crafts. Two sided blankets make for easy play on the floor with baby, or as a nursing cover.

Maybe you or a friend has need for a comfy bra insert due to a mastectomy. This tutorial is quite renown and is a free pattern from Crystal Palace Yarns.

Not quite so glamorous, but a constant annoyance to many of us, is when the "toilet runs". Don't laugh. Don't get mad. Instead go to this tutorial to learn how YOU can fix that flapper!

Go ahead, take the challenge and share your favorite tutorial(s) and link up with Inspiration Avenue via Mr. Linky below so we can all benefit from what you have found to be of interest.

Monday, April 1, 2013

How many of you played (or will play) an April Fool's joke on someone today? I'm not really one to play those kind of jokes on people, probably because I'm not really receptive to having them played on me. But some people are experts at it. For this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue, I'd like to invite you to create an image about the month of April.

In searching for vintage digital ephemera, I've come across some fun French postcards celebrating April 1. I don't know what the fish symbolizes but I love the postcards, just because they're fun.

April is famous for having lots of rain, thus bringing forth flowers in May. (April showers bring May flowers.) Sometimes Easter falls in April. There are lots of other fun things to celebrate in April. I'll list just a few for this week. April 1 is not only April Fool's Day, it's also International Tattling Day. On the 2nd, you might want to embrace National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. April 3 is Don't Go to Work Unless it's Fun Day. (Sorry but I'm not authorized to write you a note so don't ask.) April 4 is Tell a Lie Day. This is a good day to give a reason for missing work yesterday that doesn't mention that work just isn't very fun. You can celebrate on April 5 with National Walk to Work Day. (Be sensible. If you're a commuter, this one might be impractical.) April 6 is Plan Your Epitaph Day. A bit morbid for some, but others might consider it proactive. April 7 is a must-do for all of you. No Housework Day is something I try to practice just a little every day. On Sunday, April 7 I hope you will all commit to it. I certainly will. If you'd like to visit the site where I learned about all of these holidays, just click here.

Have I given you some inspiration for the April challenge? If not, maybe you should go back and look again. You can create using any medium-digital, paint, clay, paper, beads, fabric, cat fur... (just wanted to see if you're still with me.)